


Privacy

by rurambles



Series: Privacy [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Coming Out, Established Relationship, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Phone Sex, Polyamory, Secret Relationship, Social Media, Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:21:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rurambles/pseuds/rurambles
Summary: Kenma, Tsukishima, and Hinata have secretly been in a relationship for years. Conflicting schedules and priorities make seeing each other difficult, but they're doing what they can to make it work.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma/Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Kozume Kenma/Tsukishima Kei
Series: Privacy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188104
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
I’ll be streaming with a new guest later today. It’ll be dynomite  
[GIF: Roaring dinosaur captioned YASSS]

**Sunshine** @ShowYou  
@Kodzuken is this what I think it is???  
[GIF: OMG]

**Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
Today’s stream is at the request of a friend  
[IMG: Smiling fox]

Kenma wasn’t answering his door. Kei frowned at it and tried the handle. Locked. He checked his phone to see if Kenma messaged him to say he was going out-- not that he ever expected Kenma to go out-- there were no new messages, just a confirmation that they would see each other today.

As his fame grew Kenma had grown more and more reclusive. Through a camera lens or behind a screen he could be personable, but the minute he was out and about even the thought of people recognizing him and approaching him to talk had him withdrawing. His bigger fans knew enough to keep a safe distance if they saw him in public but his newer or more enthusiastic fans would bombard him with questions and photo requests until he was ready to hide in his oversized sweatshirt.

To keep him from being a total hermit Kenma had a rotating list of people who visited him, set up by Kuroo who worried like a mother hen. Some of the visitors, like Kuroo, would go on his stream and they would play games and banter-- the fans loved it. Others, like Kei, would just stop by for a visit to see if he was alive. Maybe make sure he ate some real food.

Which was why being left outside when Kenma knew he was arriving today left him so annoyed. This visit had been scheduled for a while now. They had even spoken, or messaged, about it this morning confirming the time he would be there. And yet the door was still locked.

Kei sighed and put down his bag. Kenma had a fake hide-a-key rock somewhere in the bushes near his front door and Kei was going to have to look for it. He got down on his hands and knees and reached through the overgrown bush trying to find the stupid plastic rock. By the time he found it water and dirt had seeped through the knees of his pants. Kenma should have just unlocked the stupid door. Or at least answered it when he rang the bell.

He was a bit worried that Kenma didn’t answer the bell. Kei had come by once before while Kenma was streaming and couldn’t hear it but he wasn’t scheduled to be on right now, and a quick look at his social media before showed that he wasn’t online.

Kei let himself into the house and called out a quick hello but he was only greeted by Kenma’s two cats, Yuki and Kuro. He removed his shoes and spent a minute petting the loudly purring cats. “Where’s your owner?” He asked them. They meowed at him. When he stood back up the cats took off towards the kitchen, hoping to be fed.

Kei walked in the opposite direction, to the cats’ disappointment, towards Kenma’s bedroom. He didn’t bother knocking on the door, just pushed it open and let himself in. Kenma was laying face down on the bed and didn’t stir with the intrusion. It’s not like he was used to someone barging into his bedroom, he just didn’t care to check who it was. There was only a short list of people who would bother him like that. Or he was being robbed, but in that case he couldn’t do anything anyway.

“Well the cats haven’t eaten you, so you’re probably still alive,” Kei said casually as he crossed the room and settled himself down on Kenma’s bed.

Kenma shifted slightly so he could put his head in Kei’s lap. “I fed them this morning, so they’d probably give me a little bit of a grace period,” he mumbled into Kei’s leg.

Kei ran his fingers through Kenma’s long hair, he would probably bleach it again soon, “I don’t think so. They bolted to the kitchen when I showed up.”

“Hmm, sorry. I laid down and then,” he lifted one of his arms to motion at his current predicament, “the bed’s gravity took over.”

“You okay?” Kei asked after he didn’t offer any more of an explanation.

He shrugged, “Just tired…” he drifted off for a moment, “What happened to your pants?”

Kei pushed him off his lap, “You happened to my pants. Your door was locked and I need to crawl on the ground to get your spare key.”

Kenma tried to hide a laugh, “Sorry, I forgot the door was locked. I’ll get you your own key so you don’t have to roll around in the dirt again.”

“Wow, my own key,” he drawled, “Do you think our relationship is ready for that?”

“You’ll never use it, so I think we’re safe.” Kenma rolled onto his back and offered him a small tired smile. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess.

Kei tsked at him, “Your hair is greasy, when’s the last time you took a shower? Go take one.”

“But the gravity…” he complained.

He rolled his eyes, Kenma may be older than him but he could be such a baby sometimes. Kei grabbed both of his arms and pulled him into a sitting position, Kenma let his head loll backwards like he couldn’t bear to lift it himself. Kei pulled again to drag him to the edge of the bed and onto his feet.

“The great Kodzuken can’t get himself to the shower,” he taunted, “Do you want me to come too? I feel gross from the train and wouldn’t mind one.

Kenma made a face at him, “Do it yourself,” he grumbled. But he let himself be led to the bathroom and stripped himself down before standing under the hot spray. Like everyone else who doesn’t want to get in the shower, once he was under the thrall of the hot water he didn’t want to move from there either. He must be weak against beds and showers, he thought.

But Kei was on the other side of the shower curtain telling him to actually wash his hair and not just stand there. Kenma stared dead-eyed at the curtain and wondered if he could kick him out of his house. He’d probably leave without too much fuss. He put the stupid shampoo in his hair and made unseen faces at his partner. When the citrus smell started to fill the room he thought that Kei would leave him to complete the rest of his shower, since he was proving he could do it himself, but instead he also reminded him to use conditioner.

Kenma threw the shampoo bottle at him.

The shadow on the other side of the curtain dodged out of the way, “What was that for?”

“I don’t tell you how to wash your hair.”

Kei threw the curtain open and Kenma glared up at him, not even bothering to jump or look concerned at the intrusion, “I bathe regularly.”

“You’re letting the cold air in,” he pushed Kei out and closed the curtain, “and you’re not my mom.”

“Your mother thanks me for checking in on you,” he said casually as he leaned against the wall, still not giving him any privacy.

“And your mom thanks Shoyou for checking in on you and his mother thanks me. A weird system we’ve set up.”

Kei groaned, “My mother and brother actually called Shoyou to ask him if I was getting enough sleep and eating enough. Like he would know.” Kenma chuckled, he could just imagine how that conversation went. “He’s on the other side of the world! They didn’t even ask Tadashi.”

Kenma got out of the shower (without conditioning his hair, Kei would live), and Kei handed him a towel, “They know the two of you are close,” he dried himself off and looked at his hair in the mirror. He felt a bit like a drowned cat but at least he was a clean drowned cat. “They don’t know how close but they’re not dumb.”

“Akiteru is dumb,” he shot back automatically, “Shoyou and I weren’t that close during high school. If he suspects anything it's only speculation.”

Kenma gave him an unimpressed look through the mirror, “You were dating.”

Kei shrugged as he stepped behind Kenma and picked up a brush to run through his hair. Kenma leaned into the touch. “We were not. We fought and fucked and yelled at each other. You were dating.”

“Guess so,” he mumbled, the brush felt nice against his scalp. “You like hair too much.”

“Are you going to bleach it again soon? Your fans will like your return to your signature look,” he said, ignoring any implications.

Kenma’s lips quirked downward a fraction, “Maybe. Will you help me while you’re here?” He didn’t need any help but they both liked the feeling of Kei’s fingers in his hair. “You can tell me that you don’t like boys with dark hair, I won’t be too upset,” he turned a teasing grin to the mirror to taunt him.

“Yes,” he deadpanned, “You’ve figured me out.”

* * *

**Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
Stream is going live in 5

Kei was sitting in Kenma’s gaming room-- a room that was practically as big as his entire apartment-- frowning at his phone. If he looked at Kenma’s Twitter feed earlier he would have known that he was going to be dragged in. But he barely ever checked. He really should set up an alert or something but he didn’t need to be bombarded with notifications. Part of being Kodzuken meant keeping an active online presence, he didn’t need to see all of it. He got the highlights when they talked.

So there he was, sitting in front of some elaborate set up with a camera pointed at him while start menu music to some game he never heard of played quietly in the background. The stream wasn’t even live yet and viewers were pouring in. Kei had to admit that he was impressed with what Kenma had built in only a few years, there were thousands of people waiting to watch him.

Kei rarely watched his stream on his own. Occasionally he would put it on as background noise to hear Kenma’s calming voice while he did other things, but he hardly ever sat and watched. Being on his show (were they even called shows?) was something else entirely.

The people in chat already definitely noticed that he was there and Kenma was not.

> _kodzuCAN_ : whos that??  
>  _meowow_ : oh look kodzuken found another pretty boy  
>  _goldengametime_ : new segment?  
>  _goldengametime_ : new segment!  
>  _kodzuCAN_ : has he been on before?  
>  _spaaaaaace_ : where’s kodzuken?

Kenma saw the comments rolling in and chuckled softly from off camera, “they think you’re pretty.”

Kei subtly flipped him off.

Kenma grinned at him before sitting down in his own chair and putting his headset on. He passed his spare headset to Kei.

“Hello everyone,” Kenma said smoothly into the headset’s microphone, “I just need a few more minutes and then I can introduce my guest and get started.” He muted the mic and fiddled with a few things that Kei didn’t care to watch, choosing to scroll through his phone and look annoyed instead.

> _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : who is he?  
>  _OhNo420_ : blondie doesn’t look happy about being there  
>  _m4stersw0rd_ : what you playing tonight  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : I swear he looks familiar  
>  _m4stersw0rd_ : I havent caught a live kodzuken stream in forever

He let Kei know that they were ready and unmuted their microphones, “Evening, I’m Kodzuken and I have something special here for you tonight,” he turned toward Kei with a predatory smile, “this is Moon, he’ll be my co-host for the evening.”

“Moon?” he asked condescendingly.

Kenma’s smile widened, “The name was specifically chosen by Sun.”

Kei rubbed his eyes to hide the blush he knew was rising, “Fine. Moon, then.”

> _kodzuCAN_ : did kodzuken just dump an alias on him?  
>  _chefmaster_ : why does he look so embarrassed?  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : do we know who sun is?  
>  _meowow_ : doesnt kodz wear sun and moon earrings?????  
>  _kodzuCAN_ : hes been wearing them for years, i doubt it means anything  
>  _kodzuCAN_ : it’s probably an inside joke between friends

Kei saw the last comment and scoffed, “We’re not friends.”

Kenma covered his mouth to keep from smiling too wide at how funny he found the whole situation.

> _meowow_ : when’s the last time Kodzuen looked so happy streaming?  
>  _chefmaster_ : your not friends?  
>  _chefmaster_ : *you’re

“So you’re probably all wondering why I’ve brought this non-friend on today, and it was at the request of a mutual friend who worried that Moon had no friends or no fun,” Kenma was having too much fun with this and ignored Kei glaring at him, “Moon is a different kind of nerd than me, isn’t that right?”

Kenma rested his chin in his hand and affectionately looked over at Kei. “Am I supposed to agree when you insult me?”

He turned back to the camera, “He’s a huge dinosaur nerd. Rumor has it he still collects dinosaur figures. Is that true, Moon?”

“I’m not going to talk to you if you keep insulting me,” Kei wanted to cross his arms over his chest and look away but he thought that would be too childish, so he stared Kenma down instead.

“Most kids grow out of their dinosaur phase,” Kenma continued like Kei wasn’t trying to drill a holes in his head, “but Moon has a master’s degree in archeology and works in a museum, which makes him uniquely qualified for what we’re going to do here.”

> _kodzuCAN_ : aww moon softened up when K complimented him  
>  _meowow_ : are they dating?  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : I thought he was dating that Kuro guy?  
>  _chefmaster_ : Kodzuken isn’t gay!  
>  _m4stersw0rd_ : I KNEW THAT WAS A DINOSAUR PUN IN THE TWEET EARLIER  
>  _OhNo420_ : dino games dino games dino games

“Looks like chat has caught on. Moon, would you do us the honor of telling us every inaccuracy in the 2011 classic, Jurassic Park: The Video Game? It’s a point-and-click adventure game which isn’t my usual style, I hope you’ll all forgive me, but I couldn’t pass this up.”

Kei lowered his eyes at him, “You hate when I do that.”

> _meowow_ : you hate when I do that  
>  _meowow_ : not friends he says  
>  _meowow_ : a likely story

Kenma put his hands up like he was surrendering, “I told you, this was all specifically chosen for you from Sun. He asked for all of this.”

“Ugh,” Kei groaned and rubbed his eyes again, “Fine, put on the game.”

“I thought you’d come around,” he said with his cat-like grin.

Three hours into the stream, although it didn’t feel like nearly that long, both of their phones silently lit up on the table in front of them. Kei continued talking about how that specific dinosaur absolutely wouldn’t eat something like that which he picked up his phone to check if it was anything important. Kenma kept clicking seemingly random things to advance the game.

**[battle at the garbage dump]**  
 **Sun** : I missed the start of your stream!!  
 **Sun** : time zones!!  
 **Sun** : are you having fun?  
 **Sun** : its been hours and you havent killed each other  
 **Sun** : proud of you too  
 **Sun** : make sure you eat dinner  
 **Sun** : and hydrate!

Kei held back a smile at the rush of messages and flashed the screen over to Kenma so he could read them as well. Kenma rolled his eyes at the last two messages but paused the game and stretched out his back.

“I know I usually go for much longer but Moon here is a newbie and needs a break, so we’re going to be AFK for about twenty minutes and then we’ll be back.” Kenma pressed a few buttons on his keyboard and a ‘we’ll be back shortly’ screen with a sleeping cat appeared.

**Cat** : We’ll eat dinner right now  
 **Cat** : You’re not my mom either  
 **Moon** : I made him shower earlier so he’s cranky  
 **Cat** : I’m not a child. I’m older than you  
 **Moon** : That’s nice dear  
 **Sun** : Are you messaging each other in the same room?  
 **Sun** : Can I call?  
 **Cat** : Yes  
 **Moon** : Yes. To both.

Shoyou video called Kenma who picked up the call on a tablet he had lying around so they could stand it up while they warmed up something to eat.

“Hey you two,” he greeted them warmly, “what are you making?”

Kei sat himself in front of the tablet while Kenma busied himself in the kitchen, pulling things out of the refrigerator that could easily be reheated and eaten without taking up too much of their time. They only had a bit of time with Shoyou before he had to go back to his stream, he was technically still working.

“Looks like yakisoba,” Kei said looking over his shoulder, “How old is that?”

Kenma smelled the container and shrugged, “Not too old.”

Shoyou groaned, “You’re going to die before I can come home. I’m going to come back to two cats instead of two boyfriends.”

As if being summoned, Yuki hopped onto Kei’s lap and peered at the tablet before turning to paw at Kei in hopes of food. Kei pet her and ignored her pleas. “If it makes you feel any better,” he started with a grin, “we probably won’t eat enough to kill us.”

Shoyou groaned again. The three of them had very different eating habits. Kei ate two small to medium sized meals a day and didn’t really snack, Kenma preferred snacking on junk food to real meals, and Shoyou ate more than both of them combined in large meals and healthy snacks. On the rare times they were all together it made for interesting meal times.

Kenma removed Yuki from Kei’s lap and handed him a bowl before settling down next to him, “How long do we have you, Shoyou?”

Shoyou looked off screen for a moment, “Maybe an hour, maybe a bit less than that, sorry,” he gave them a wry smile, “but it’s good to see you two. I miss you.”

Kei only took a few bites before he put the bowl aside and shifted Kenma into his lap. He carded his fingers through his hair and separated into three parts to start braiding it. He wanted to do it after Kenma got out of the shower but there wasn’t enough time before the start of the stream. Shoyou watched his fingers with jealous eyes.

Kei glanced at the screen and noticed Shoyou watching him intently, “What’s up, Sho?” he teased.

“I wish I could touch both of you,” he sighed.

“You want to do this?” Kei lightly touched Kenma’s chin to tilt his head back and steal a quick kiss.

Kenma scrunched up his nose, “I’m eating, leave me alone.”

Shoyou shifted so he was closer to his camera, “I’m not eating.”

“I can’t kiss you through a screen,” Kei sighed, “But you’ll be back eventually.”

* * *

> _meowow_ : is kodz hair braided??  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : was it b4?  
>  _meowow_ : did moon do it????  
>  _kodzuCAN_ : the plot thickens

* * *

Kei enjoyed the rest of the stream but he was happy when it was over and they weren’t constantly being watched. It was also weird to call his partner Kodzuken instead of Kenma, and after the second stumble, he stopped addressing him by name altogether.

Once the camera was off and he could finally take off the headset, he rested his head on Kenma’s shoulder. Kenma made no move to get out of his gaming chair. Even though the stream was over he was still replying to fans and updating his social media. Kei quietly watched him work, watched how fast he typed and how he interacted with his fan base. It was nice to see.

The three of them lived in completely different worlds.

Kenma’s was mostly virtual even though he lived just outside of Tokyo. His days were filled with making and editing videos, playing video games, and interacting with his fanbase. Kei didn’t really understand his popularity because in person Kenma wasn’t that outgoing or personable but he did become a different person when behind a screen.

Kei lived two hours away by train, not that far in the grand scheme of things but he kept himself so busy that finding time to visit was often difficult. Between his job at the museum and playing on a division 1 volleyball team he didn’t get a lot of free time for anything, friends, family, or romance.

Shoyou was the odd person out. He was halfway across the world again in Brazil and was letting volleyball take him from place to place, even if it meant constantly being away from them.

They were mostly happy, though, at least this was the life that they had chosen for themselves. It wouldn’t be any easier for them to be together.

* * *

**Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
Stream was a roaring success. Thanks for putting up with my acquaintance  
[IMG: Rawr means “I love you” in dinosaur]

**Hinata Shoyou** @Hinata_Shoyou  
Chase your dreams  
[IMG: Hinata in position to spike]

**Sunshine** @ShowYou  
Felt like watching an old favorite  
[IMG: feet up in front of a laptop showing the Jurassic Park logo]

* * *

“Let’s go to bed,” Kei stretched out his back, tired and sore from sitting all day.

Kenma didn’t look away from his computer, “In a minute.”

Kei folded his arms, “I’m not an idiot. If I leave the room you’ll be here for hours. C’mon, we’re going to bed,” he reached over and turned off one of the monitors.

“Don’t touch that!” Kenma glared at him, “Fine, just let me shut things down properly.”

Sleeping next to each other was a luxury that Kei wasn’t planning on missing out on because one of his ridiculous partners liked to stay awake until obscene hours in the morning. (Kei swore he was the only normal one of the bunch because during the rare times the three of them were together he would go to bed with Shoyou at a normal time just for him to wake up obnoxiously early and basically switch places with Kenma who was going to bed obnoxiously late. At least he had a normal sleep schedule.)

They fit together nicely, Kenma tucked his head under Kei’s chin and they spent some time cuddling before rolling away in opposite directions to sleep without being smothered in the other’s body heat. It was nice being with each other.

“What do you have to do tomorrow?” Kei mumbled.

Kenma yawned, suddenly tired, “I’m a guest on someone else’s stream tomorrow. It’s early, 10 a.m., but it should be over by noon so we have the rest of the day together before you have to leave.”

* * *

When Kenma finished his guest stream he found Kei sitting on the couch talking lowly into the phone. It was a tone that he recognized and as he walked closer he could hear his shallow breathing and see the tent in his pants. Kei and Shoyou had a higher sex drive than he did and supplemented their relationship where they could.

Kei noticed him hovering and beckoned him closer, holding a finger to his lips to keep him quiet as he put his phone on speaker. As soon as he hit the button Shoyou’s whine filled the room. Kenma straddled Kei’s lap but kept quiet.

“Do you want to come,” Kei asked, maintaining eye contact with Kenma.

“Yesss,” Shoyou moaned.

Kenma could picture him touching himself and shifted in Kei’s lap at the thought, making him gasp quietly at the contact. He understood that Kei was asking him if he wanted to join them. Kei cupped his cheek while he considered it and Kenma nodded into his palm.

Shoyou groaned again, “Kei, what do you want me to do?”

Kei pressed his forehead against Kenma’s chest and swallowed hard. He liked bossing around Shoyou, and Kenma liked seeing what it did to both of them. Kenma shifted out of his sweatpants and pushed Kei’s down as well.

“Touch yourself slowly,” Kei said, looking up at Kenma who was hovering over him, “be loud for me, Sho, and don’t come just yet.”

Shoyou was eager to follow Kei’s commands but Kenma just looked down on him, waiting. Kei muted the phone so Shoyou couldn’t hear them and pulled him down for a kiss. It was hot, kissing to the sounds of their lover’s moans as he got himself off. Shoyou moaned loudly, wanting to please Kei, and it affected both of them..

Kei snaked his hand between them to get them off together but Kenma swatted his hand away to do it himself.

“Talk to him,” Kenma whispered even though they were muted, “wanna hear both of you.”

Kei kissed him hard and nodded, but not before nipping at his lip. He unmuted the phone and Kenma started moving his hand, stroking them together. Kei was often the one in control when they had sex, it was part of his personality, so it was nice to have him underneath him thrusting against him trying to get something more.

“Shoyou,” he groaned, “tell me what you want.”

Shoyou’s response was immediate, “I want to come, please, Kei.”

“Do you deserve it?” Kei hummed.

“Yes, I’ve been so good,” Shoyou begged. Kei tilted his head back as he listened and Kenma attached his mouth to his throat, “Please, Kei.”

Kei’s cock twitched or his hips jerked every time Shoyou begged him, they both knew how to play each other. Kenma wondered how often they did this with each other, they had been hot and heavy since high school and the distance was hard for them. And as Shoyou moaned over the phone and Kei squirmed beneath him, Kenma wondered which of them was closer to coming. He bit Kei’s neck, not hard enough to leave a mark, and pulled a moan out of him.

On the other end of the phone they heard Shoyou gasp, Kei was quiet in bed so hearing him moan did a lot for him. With Kei’s permission, and a coy command to be loud, Shoyou came in what Kenma could imagine was a few quick and hard jerks.

The sound was enough to send Kei tumbling over the edge as well, and Kenma followed suit not long after.

“Kei,” Shoyou sighed, happy, “I love you.” He could always easily say that he loved them. It was more difficult for Kei and Kenma who were much more reserved, especially in their private relationship. The words came hard for them even if they did feel it.

“You love that I’ll answer your international booty call,” he teased. Kenma rolled his eyes at him, “Go to bed, Shoyou, it’s midnight for you.”

He was silent on the other end.

“Shoyou,” Kei said awkwardly, “you know that I…”

“Yeah. I love you too,” there was no denying the hint of sadness in his voice, “I miss you. But you’re right, I should go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

With the click of the phone Kei finally turned back to Kenma who was attempting to clean them both up, “Kenma,” he said, trying to voice his feelings.

He smiled at him, “Yeah.”

This was the life they chose.

* * *

**Moonshine** @Tsukkei  
I spend too much time waiting for trains  
[IMG: Train station]

**Sunshine** @ShowYou  
I did miss this when I was back in Japan.  
[IMG: Sunrise over the ocean]


	2. Chapter 2

“What’s your problem, Tsukishima?” Hinata yelled as he shoved the taller boy’s chest, “Do you wanna fight or something?”

Practice was long over, even Kageyama had packed up and left. Hinata had waved him off and told him he was going to ask Tsukishima something about blocking and that was enough for Kageyama to scowl and say he was leaving on his own. Tsukishima wasn’t one for making friends with his fellow first-years. Hinata really did have a question but he was snuffed before he could get all of the words out so he barreled straight into Tsukishima with a primal scream to try and get his attention.

It worked, to mix success.

“You’re my problem!” Tsukishima yelled back and took another step forward, being pushed not deterring him at all. “You’re the one picking fights!”

“Me?” He stood on his toes like he could try and get in Tsukishima’s face if he was just a little bit taller.

Tsukishima towered over him, emphasizing their size difference. For a moment Hinata swallowed and hesitated but he quickly puffed up his chest to try and make himself look bigger. He wasn’t going to be intimidated by the likes of Tsukishima of all people, he knew plenty of scarier people.

“You,” he said darkly.

They glared at each other, anger apparent in their eyes as well as something else. Hinata would call it frustration. Frustration that they were doing this again, getting in each other’s faces and having a shouting match over nothing so they could roughly shove the other somewhere private before they met in a furiously stupid kiss. Tsukishima would call it lust. He hated hotblooded people and he hated how Hinata made his blood boil and he hated how that temperament boiled over to hot hands and hot mouths in a secluded club room.

He couldn’t deny though, no matter how much he wanted to, if they kept away for too long they exploded into anger and passion and they roughly manhandled each other into whatever dark room they could find first-- gym, storeroom, club room, whatever.

They kissed like they were still fighting. There was no love behind it, just energy and a drive to conquer. They didn’t kiss like they liked each other, it was always a competition. It was always difficult to tell who won, or if anyone did or if they both did. It wasn’t like Hinata and Kageyama where they kept a running tally of their rivalry, this was simply an explosion, a meeting, and a departure.

Hinata grabbed two handfuls of Tsukishima’s shirt and walked him backwards until he hit the wall. He gazed up at him with fiery eyes until Tsukishima grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him up to slam their lips together. Their teeth clanked together awkwardly and painfully and they barely took the time to adjust their positions so it wouldn’t happen again.

At the extreme angle caused by their height difference it was easy for Tsukishima to deepen the kiss and push his tongue between Hinata’s lips. Hinata gasped at the intrusion and bit down reflexively, causing Tsukishima to withdraw.

“What the fuck was that?” he snapped, not wasting a moment before leaning forward and kissing him again.

Hinata pushed him back, “Don’t put your gross tongue in my mouth,” he sneered, then captured Tsukishima’s mouth in another blistering kiss.

Tsukishima sucked Hinata’s lower lip into his mouth and bit it in retribution, but Hinata moaned and snapped his hips forward, pressing his half-hard erection against Tsukishima’s leg. He shoved him away.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” he looked away, out of steam and no longer able to meet Hinata’s eyes.

Hinata wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “I don’t have any ideas about what this is.”

After a moment he coolly turned his gaze back to the still lightly panting boy in front of him, “That’s because you’re an idiot,” he said quietly.

* * *

Kenma’s first apartment was small. He had gotten it just so he could move out of his parents house but it was so small that the main living space was only big enough to house his gaming set up and not much else.

Shoyou didn’t mind though. He liked to come over when he could, although it wasn’t as often as he wanted considering he was in his last year of high school and was putting all of his time into volleyball. But whenever he had a free day he made the trek to Tokyo so that they could spend the day together.

The two of them had been circling each other for two years now. Their messages had turned flirty almost as long ago, but neither of them made a move. It didn’t help that Kenma was the person Shoyou went to to complain about his weird not-relationship with Tsukishima. Shoyou knew that it was hard to signal to someone that you liked them when you also told them about the guy you periodically make out with.

But given the option Shoyou would replace Tsukishima with Kenma in an instant. Kenma was at least nice to him. Kenma never injured Shoyou’s shoulder by shoving him into a wall to make out with him. No, him and Tsukishima had chemistry but he actually liked Kenma and could see them dating.

He was fairly certain that Kenma thought the same thing.

“Hey,” Kenma smiled quietly at him as he answered the door.

Shoyou smiled back and hoped Kenma didn’t notice how nervous he was. Because he had a plan and he didn’t want it to backfire.

Kenma closed the door behind them and Shoyou immediately leaned over and kissed him. It was just a quick peck of lips, but it was the best way he knew how to let Kenma know how he felt. And if he was rejected he was still at the front door and he could walk right back out and go home.

Kenma blinked at him, “Huh?”

“I like you! Be my boyfriend!” he yelled in his face.

He flinched at the noise, “Aren’t you dating Tsukishima?”

Shoyou’s cheeks flushed red, “We’re not dating. I like you, not him. We, I can stop, with him,” he stumbled over his words. It was stupid of him to think that he wouldn’t have to explain his thing with Tsukishima. The last time the two of them had kissed was only a few days ago.

“Okay,” Kenma said slowly, “We can go out.”

“Yes!”

* * *

Tsukishima pulled him into the supply closet and roughly pushed him against the wall. Shoyou was looking up at him with half-lidded eyes before he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be doing this anymore. His relationship with Kenma was new and he wasn’t going to jeopardize it because Tsukishima was a good kisser.

He looked at his lips. A really good kisser.

“We can’t,” Shoyou said, putting his hands on Tsukishima’s chest to push him away, “Stop.”

Tsukishima paused for a moment, “Very funny,” but ducked down to kiss him anyway. Shoyou almost let him.

At the last second he pushed him away, “I’m dating Kenma,” he blurted out, “We can’t keep doing this.”

Hurt flashed across his face for just a moment but Shoyou saw it clear as day before Tsukishima managed to shut it down, “Oh,” they stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do, “Whatever, it’s not like I like you anyway.”

Shoyou watched his back as he left the store room. He didn’t understand why he felt so upset.

* * *

Kei was heading home after a grueling volleyball practice when he spotted Kenma standing by the front gates tapping away at his phone. He stopped a few paces away from him and stared. He was probably waiting for Hinata.

“Hinata should be here soon,” he said awkwardly. What were you supposed to say to the guy who was now dating the guy you used to regularly make out with?

Kenma glanced up for just a moment before turning back to his phone, “I actually came here to talk to you.”

Kei made a face, “You’re here for me?”

He shrugged and put his phone in his pocket, “Well, I’m here to visit Shoyou but I wanted to talk to you too.”

“Do you like Shoyou?’

“What?” he took a step back, “He’s your boyfriend, what does it matter.”

Kenma didn’t make a move to get closer but he studied Kei intently, “Shoyou likes you,” he said after a lengthy and awkward silence, “I don’t mind.”

Kei scrunched up his nose, “If you’re trying to say something, just say it.”

His lips quirked upwards for just a second, “I would be okay if you also wanted to date Shoyou. He’s,” he paused for a second, considering his words, “exhausting at times. He could use someone else.”

“You’re trying to pawn off your boyfriend because you’re tired?”

Hinata chose that moment to zip by on his bike but when he saw Kei and Kenma talking he squeezed the brakes on his handlebars and tried to stop as fast as possible, “What are you two doing?” he squeaked out, rapidly looking between them to see if there was any damage.

Kei smirked at him, “Your boyfriend says you should date me because you’re annoying.”

“Huh?” he looked towards Kenma.

Kenma put his hand over Hinata’s and looked towards Kei, “You two like each other,” Kei tried not to fidget under the weight of their combined gaze, “If you two are okay with it, I wouldn’t mind if you dated both of us.”

Hinata kept looking at Kei, “Why?”

“I don’t mind sharing,” Kenma said, causing Hinata to turn red, “I think you’d be good for each other.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Kei said, tired of being ogled and ignored.

Kenma shrugged, “Then this whole thing doesn’t matter.”

Hinata jumped off his bike and took Kei’s hands in his, “I like you. Do you want to date me too?”

Kei looked between Hinata and Kenma, it would probably be a mistake if he did, but for some reason his mouth said, “Yeah, sure,” Hinata beamed up at him, “But we should probably work out some rules or something. I live close by, we can go to my house and talk.”

* * *

Kenma sat on his phone while his boyfriend vigorously made out with his new boyfriend. The two of them had obviously missed each other judging by how they looked like they were attempting to eat each other. He glanced up at them, they didn’t get very far into negotiating rules before all of this started but he figured they’d calm down eventually. He made the right call talking to Tsukishima, he wasn’t as… active, as they were, so there was much less pressure on him.

Shoyou must have felt him looking because he broke the kiss to look at him. Tsukishima was undeterred and moved to his neck instead. Shoyou’s eyes were wide and dark and Kenma had to admit he looked nice like that.

“Are you okay?” he gasped out as he grabbed a handful of Tsukishima’s hair.

Kenma nodded, “You’re fine.”

Shoyou didn’t look like he believed him (and also didn’t look like he wanted to stop just yet) so Kenma leaned over and gave him a quick and light kiss. Having the attention of both of his boyfriends was enough to make him groan; the sound pulled Tsukishima from Shoyou’s neck back to his mouth and the two of them toppled over.

They didn’t seem to notice.

Kenma pulled out some headphones. Maybe they would be longer than he thought.

(They did, eventually, work out some ground rules. The main one being that no one else should know.)

* * *

Kei was fairly certain that it was only a matter of time before Shoyou got tired of dating him and decided to solely date Kenma again, and for some reason that made him rather possessive. Perhaps, he thought, possessive wasn’t the right word. Because surprisingly he didn’t mind sharing. He almost never had to deal with Kenma, and Shoyou still looked at him like he wanted him, so there was nothing to worry about.

Competitive-- that’s what it was-- he felt competitive over Shoyou. Like maybe this was something he could win.

Which was why when he knew that Shoyou was going to see Kenma the next day, Kei would give him a large, purple, impossible to hide hickey. It helped that Shoyou made wonderful noises while he did it, and it set off a spark of desire whenever he saw it. Kei knew that he had gotten roped into this relationship to be physical with Shoyou, and he was going to win that too.

A completely normal thing to want, he told himself when he was alone. It was fine.

It was also fine when he sent his boyfriend away to his other boyfriend (“Kei! How am I going to cover this?” “Hm, makeup? Scarf? Turtleneck? Not my problem.’) and received a text hours later of Kenma lightly kissing the unmistakable mark he left on Shoyou’s neck, with just a hint of challenge in his eyes.

Kei kind of hated it, but Kenma was growing on him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Keneko** @Keneko  
[iMG: Kenma’s cats]

 **Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
Catch me live in ten [link]

 **Hinata Shoyou** @Hinata_Shoyou  
Game tonight!!

* * *

Kei worked part time at the museum and spent the vast majority of the time in the back surrounded by paperwork. He loved it back there. He had spent years working towards his degree in order to work in that stuffy back room and he could honestly say that he looked forward to it every day. Most days.

Sometimes he had to venture out to the public side of the museum and he wasn’t exactly the most personable person on staff. The only time he had ever gotten in trouble while at work was because he snapped at a patron. But in his defense they had asked the same stupid question multiple times.

“Hey, aren’t you Kodzuken’s friend? You did that dinosaur game with him a few days ago.”

Kei stopped in his tracks and held the tablet in his hands closer to his chest. He just needed to deliver this and going through the museum proper was faster than going through the maze of back hallways. He regretted his decision.

“We’re not really friends,” he said reflexively as he smiled at the man politely.

He also regretted that Kenma’s fans now know about their inside joke. The two of them had mostly skipped the friend phase, they went from acquaintances to (after Shoyou had gone to Rio the first time) lovers to boyfriends; and the first time they slept together Kei had told him that they weren’t friends. Looking back it was incredibly embarrassing, but it evolved into a fond memory.

A fond memory that now thousands of people held a small part of.

“So what’s Kodzuken like in real life?” the man pressed.

Kei frowned, this was why Kenma didn’t like leaving the house too often, “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m very busy. Unless you have museum related questions I really must be going.”

 **[battle at the garbage dump]**  
 **Moon** : I was accosted by one of your loyal fans today  
 **Moon** : Kenma, not Sho  
 **Cat** : …  
 **Cat** : What happened?  
 **Moon** : Someone recognized at work me from our little playdate  
 **Cat** : Kei, I’m sorry. I’ll send a tweet to remind people not to approach you or anyone else I play with  
 **Moon** : Kitty it’s fine  
 **Cat** : Just let me do this.

 **Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
I shouldn’t have to say this, but please don’t approach people in the streets or at their job because they appeared on stream with me. They deserve their privacy.

 **[battle at the garbage dump]**  
 **Sun** : are you saying i don’t have fans?  
 **Moon** : I’m saying you have no reading comprehension  
 **Sun** : I have no idea what that means  
 **Moon** : Point proven.  
 **Sun** : Dont bully me Kei!  
 **Moon** : Then when would we talk?  
 **Sun** : Rude  
 **Moon** : Yes.

* * *

Kenma loved his fan base, he did, but they often made it difficult for him to leave the house. It wasn’t exactly their fault, he was often looking for reasons not to leave the house and they offered a great excuse to the point he became borderline agoraphobic and a handful of people had to force him to leave the house.

The real problem was that he didn’t like being recognized. There was a difference between being personable over a microphone protected by a computer screen or three and being face to face with only his hair to protect him. The Kodzuken who stuttered through fan interactions wasn’t really the one he wanted to present to the world.

But sometimes he had to go out and sometimes there was a special occasion that drove him out.

Kei playing a match at the closest stadium was as good a reason as any to leave the house. It was fairly well known that he was a volleyball fan so if he was spotted he wouldn’t be too out of place-- although he just bleached his hair and his fans weren’t used to a completely blond look so he hoped he’d be spared. The game was at night so it wouldn’t be weird if he got a hotel nearby.

He was looking forward to sleeping next to Kei, even if it was just for the night.

Kei had given him his schedule weeks in advance and Kenma had arranged his schedule so that he went on live earlier that morning and an edited video of a game walkthrough he was doing would drop later that night, so even if he was away his content would still be flowing. In the car on the way to the stadium he double and triple checked that everything was scheduled.

The stadium was loud and full but Kenma found his seat easily and spotted Kei on the court even easier.

Watching Kei play took his breath away. It was different than watching Shoyou who always jumped out and surprised you, Kei was thoughtful and methodical and that made him intimidating on the court. Kenma liked to try and watch his eyes, to guess what information he was taking in and what he would do with it. To them, volleyball could be a numbers game. There was something special about watching Kei play.

And then he jumped and he flew. Shoyou liked to take credit for Kei’s jump, he said that without his motivation he never would have jumped as high, but Kenma knew that it was a team effort, that Kei, and Kageyama as well, deserved some of that praise. They also knew that he improved after high school, reaching higher and higher.

He was amazing to watch.

* * *

 **[battle at the garbage dump]**  
 **Cat** : Room 418  
 **Sun** : Have fun!!  
 **Moon** : 90 min

* * *

 **Ribbet Rabbit** @froggamegirl  
Look who I spotted watching the @Sendai_Frogs @Kodzuken  
[IMG: Kenma intently looking at the court]

 **Tsukishima Kei** @tsukishima_kei  
[link to an article about the Frog’s victory]

 **Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
New speedrun series video up  
[GIF: cat running on a treadmill]

* * *

Kenma was sitting under the blanket in the hotel bed playing with his Switch when Kei let himself into the room. He looked a lot different than he did on the court. His hair was wavy and a bit damp from his shower, his glasses were back on-- he had ditched the sports glasses in favor of contacts years ago no matter how much he hated wearing them-- and his athletic figure was hidden under a hoodie and sweatpants.

Kei slipped off his shoes and laid in the bed next to him, “Hey.”

Kenma smiled and turned off his game without saving, he hadn’t done too much since the last time he saved and it would be no problem to do it again. This was more important anyway. He wiggled his way down until they were sharing a pillow.

“Tired?”

“We won,” he said instead of answering. Kenma was going to ask if that meant yes or no but Kei leaned forward and kissed him softly, “Glad you’re here.”

Kenma wrapped a hand around the back of Kei’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. Sometimes he forgot how much he liked kissing Kei, or he forgot how good a kisser he was (it was all the practice with Shoyou, the back of his mind said) but Kei knew exactly how to kiss him to make him want more. It was definitely a talent.

Kei was the first to pull back, “What do you want?”

“Just to sleep next you tonight,” he mumbled, but his eyes dropped to Kei’s mouth, “but maybe in the morning…” If Kenma were to make a list of things that Kei’s mouth was good at, it would include things like insulting and flirting with Shoyou in the same breath, kissing, and oral sex.

He watched Kei’s lips quirk into a smile, like he knew exactly where his mind had wandered, “Okay. I’m getting tired anyway.”

They shifted positions so Kenma was resting his head on Kei’s chest. There was something comforting about listening to his steady heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his abdomen with each breath.

“Kei,” Kenma mumbled, “I’m going to Brazil in a few weeks. Gaming convention. Want me to bring Shoyou anything?”

“Yeah, this,” he touched Kenma’s chin to tilt his head back and kissed him again.

* * *

 **Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
Brazil get ready  
[GIF: OMG]

 **Sunshine** @ShowYou  
[GIF: OMG]

 **Hinata Shoyou** @Hinata_Shoyou  
As much as I love playing volleyball, nothing beats a good vacation!

* * *

“I can’t believe you roped me into this again,” Kei grumbled into the microphone as he sat in front of Kenma’s impressive gaming/streaming setup.

Kenma turned and grinned at him, “That’s what you get for coming over.”

Kei gave him a look. He hadn’t exactly come over willingly. Kuroo had texted him a few days before saying Kenma wasn’t replying to his messages and Kei had checked their group chat and realized that Kenma had been oddly quiet, so instead of using his one day off to rest he took the train to Tokyo.

He’d been fine, of course, just caught up in a gaming binge because some new game came out or something. Kei forced him to eat and sleep and was repaid by having a camera pointed at him again. But as much as he liked to complain, and he did, it was nice to see him again before he went off to Brazil to play games, it meant he could drop off a care package for Shoyou.

“Are we doing the dinosaur game again?”

Kenma chuckled, “Moon, I already have a game open, does it look like the one we were playing last time.”

“Well, Kitty,” he flicked Kenma’s cat-eared headset, “I thought you’d switch games.”

> _kodzuCAN_ : kitty  
>  _meowow_ : kitty  
>  _goldengametime_ : kitty  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : kitty

“I’m usually playing Minecraft around now, so you’re here to keep me and chat company while I strip mine.”

Kei finally looked at the computer screen, he at least knew what Minecraft was, “What the hell is strip mining?”

Kenma smirked at him, “Well first I take off my--”

“So that’s where all your money comes from.” Kei cut him off before he could say anything else.

> _OhNo420_ : gettin sassy now  
>  _m4stersw0rd_ : is this flirting  
>  _thepartwherehekillsyou_ : hope he doesnt get in trouble for this lol

“Strip mining is where I mine down to a certain coordinate and then more or less mine straight ahead until I find diamonds,” he explained at last.

Kei looked at him like he was an idiot and then looked straight at the camera, “You pay him for this? That sounds terrible. Save your money on something that’s worth it.”

Kenma covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, “Usually if I force them to watch me strip mine I do a Q&A, just so you know what you’re in for. And don’t be jealous I make more money than you. If you’re nice maybe I’ll pay your rent or something,” the smile he flashed was challenging.

He already did, in fact, pay Kei’s rent. It was one of the major points of contention between them. Right after Kei started renting his current apartment Kenma paid for an entire year in advance without asking or telling him. He didn’t know until he tried to pay the next month.

He scrunched up his nose at Kenma, “Let’s get started already.”

* * *

 **Kodzuken** @Kodzuken  
See you all in Rio for Brasil Game Show

 **Sunshine** @ShowYou  
[IMG: Cat wearing sunglasses]

* * *

Kei arrived at the restaurant a few minutes late and found that Tadashi had already ordered for him. They met up there as frequently as they could but it usually averaged out to once a month. While Tadashi always ordered something different, Kei got the same thing every time. He liked the consistency.

He also liked showing up somewhere and there being a plate of food ready for him. It so rarely happened unless he wanted to risk visiting his mother or brother, which he usually did not thanks to their annoying but well intentioned questioning.

He would have avoided Tadashi tonight as well if he knew that his friend was planning on interrogating him about his supposed lack of a dating life.

“So when’s the last time you went on a date?” Tadashi asked casually.

Kei glared at him over his meal, “Last week,” he shot back. That is if you did count checking in on Kenma as a date and didn’t count the phone sex he had with Shoyou as one, but he couldn’t go ahead and tell Tadashi that.

Tadashi shook his head, “Why don’t I believe you? You never go out. Aren’t you,” he dropped his voice, “Kei, don’t you get lonely sometimes?”

He wanted to laugh, he was in two long distance relationships, of course he got lonely. Instead he shook his head, “Work and volleyball keep my busy. When would I find the time to find someone to date. And don’t say to use the internet or dating apps.”

“Well,” he drew out the word so it was multiple syllables, “There’s this woman I work with. I think she’d be just your type. Sarcastic, likes Godzilla.”

Kei made a face, “Is that what you think of me?”

He hated having this conversation. It wasn’t the first time Tadashi had tried to set him up with someone and it probably won’t be the last. He had gone on a few dates just to get Tadashi off his back (with Shoyou and Kenma’s blessing) but of course they never went well. The last one ended with the woman telling him that she wouldn’t tell his friend that he was gay.

“I don’t want to date, Tadashi. I’m fine with how things are,” the words didn’t sound convincing to him so he knew that they probably sounded less convincing to his best friend.

“Just give her a chance,” Tadashi gave him a small smile, “Maybe you’ll like her.”

Kei picked up his drink and brought it to his mouth with too much force causing some of it to spill over the side, “Doubt it,” he mumbled into the glass. If Tadashi heard him he ignored it.

* * *

 **[battle at the garbage dump]**  
 **Moon** : Tadashi wants to set me up on a date.  
 **Moon** : With a girl.  
 **Moon** : Again.  
 **Sun** : You could just tell him. Tadashi won’t mind  
 **Sun** : He might mind that you kept it a secret for so long.  
 **Moon** : What? That I’m gay or that I have not one but two boyfriends?  
 **Sun** : Yes  
 **Cat** : Yes.  
 **Moon** : Ugh, you too Kitty?  
 **Cat** : He’s your best friend.  
 **Moon** : Oh, because you two have told your best friends about us  
 **Cat** : Tetsuro has a big mouth  
 **Sun** : Kageyama wouldnt understand  
 **Sun** : Hed think Im cheating on one of you or being cheated on  
 **Sun** : someone would get in a fight  
 **Cat** : Tadashi is trustworthy  
 **Cat** : If you want to tell him, we support you  
 **Moon** : Really?  
 **Sun** : Of course!  
 **Cat** : Yeah  
 **Moon** : Fine, but only because I’m tired of being set up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is called The Best Friend Interlude

Kenma was furiously mashing buttons on his controller while Kuro lazily flipped through a volleyball magazine next to him. It had been their routine for years to silently tolerate or enjoy each other’s company until one of them (usually Kuro) decided that they needed to do something else. Unfortunately today’s something else was talk.

“I’m just sayin’,” Kuro said casually, “If you like the shorty so much you should just ask him out.”

Kenma’s finger slipped off a button but he easily recovered and the game didn’t even notice his mistake, “No,” he made a disgusted face at the thought of putting himself out there like that, “he doesn’t like me like that.”

He knew for sure that Shoyou didn’t have a crush on him, and if he did then he was a huge idiot because no smart person would tell their crush about kissing someone else regularly. He ignored the fact that he knew Shoyou was not the brightest he had ever met. It was easier to be in denial and push his feelings deep, deep down.

Kuro huffed, “You text him every day. You don’t even talk to me that much.”

“Because you’re annoying,” Kenma scoffed.

“And you video chat with him most days,” Kuro continued like his best friend didn’t insult him, “why do you think he doesn’t like you.”

Kenma mashed through tips on the loading screen of his game, “He likes someone else.”

Kuro put his magazine down and looked hard at Kenma who was studiously ignoring him, “Did he tell you that or did your big brain tell you?”

“Not in so many words,” he grumbled. It was actually the opposite, Shoyou spent a lot of time talking about how he didn’t like Tsukishima, how he was mean and he didn’t like that they kept kissing but they just kept doing it. Kenma knew that they must like each other at least a little bit or else they wouldn’t keep orbiting and colliding with each other.

Kuro laughed his stupid and annoying bray of a laugh, “You’re basically dating him already, you just don’t kiss each other,” he grinned lazily, “Wouldn’t it be better if you did?”

He held back a sigh. The problem wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss Shoyou, it was that Shoyou already had someone else to kiss. He saved his game and turned it off, “Do you want to go practice?”

* * *

Kuro acted way too smug when he found out he and Shoyou had started dating so he ignored him for a week as payback.

* * *

Kageyama was tired, so tired, about hearing how great Kenma was. Every few days he had to sit through another story about how Kenma did this or Kenma said that. Eventually he stopped listening. If even he could recognize that Hinata had a crush then it had to be obvious to everyone else and someone other than him could take care of it.

The only problem was he couldn’t stop Hinata from talking to him about it. Eventually he had enough.

“Can’t you tell someone else about this,” he snapped after Hinata missed his toss because he was talking about Kenma’s setting instead, “I don’t care!”

Hinata’s face fell, “But you’re my best friend, who else would I tell?”

Kageyama looked away and crossed his arms, he was always embarrassed when Hinata called him his best friend. Having close friends was still a new thing for him and he didn’t know how Hinata could say things like that so easily.

“Why do you like him so much?” he grumbled.

Hinata laughed, “Don’t you listen to me? He’s really smart and cool.”

“Are you making up friends again?” Tsukishima taunted as he entered the gym for morning practice.

Hinata turned and glared at him, “Shut up, stupid-shima.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, “Clever as ever, I see.”

Kageyama didn’t understand Hinata and Tsukishima’s relationship. They were hostile towards each other most of the time, they glared at each other and threw verbal jabs back and forth until one of them stormed away but Hinata still asked Tsukishima for help studying and for some reason Tsukishima always accepted.

Hinata was still busy glaring at Tsukishima when Kageyama threw a volleyball at him, “Why do you spend so much time with that jerk when you hate each other?”

He turned a weird shade of red and looked at his feet, “He’s smart and helps me with my work, the fact that he’s a jerk is just,” he let out a yell, drawing the attention of everyone in the gym, “Just toss to me again, Bakayama, is doesn’t matter!”

Kageyama agreed, it didn’t matter.

* * *

When Hinata and Kenma started dating, Kageyama thought he was finally done hearing about how great Kenma was. He was wrong.

* * *

The worst part about having Tadashi for a best friend was that he was just so concerned about him and how he was doing. Kei assumed that most people wanted someone to worry about them. Logically he knew that it was nice that someone cared about him, but he still wished that Tadashi cared about him just a little bit less.

Because one day he was going to accidentally find out that his best friend did a little bit more than barely tolerate their resident ace. He was going to find out that Kei got a lot more out of tutoring him than just a headache and some ignored praise. And Kei didn’t want that to happen.

Which was why the first time Tadashi tried to set him up on a date he accepted without too much complaining. Kei knew that whoever Tadashi picked for him wasn’t going to be his type purely because whoever Tadashi picked was going to be a girl. He felt a bit bad about not telling Tadashi that he was gay but really Kei didn’t want to deal with the hassle or attention that came with coming out.

When he was younger he thought that if he ignored being gay long enough it would just go away, now that he was older he figured that if he ignored it long enough maybe people would think he was asexual and leave him alone.

Tadashi was never going to leave him alone which was how he found himself going from making out with Shoyou to getting dressed for a date with girl who had the misfortune of being set up with someone who was gay. Kei sighed (and lightly smacked Shoyou when he laughed at him for complaining), he just needed to make it through one night and then he could say that they didn’t click or whatever.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Every few months Tadashi got on his case about being lonely or wanting to be with someone and as time went on he simply couldn’t tell him that he was dating Shoyou, or dating Shoyou and hooking up with Kenma, or dating both Shoyou and Kenma. So he kept letting Tadashi set him up and he apologized when the set up inevitably failed.

Kei resigned himself to this being the rest of his life.

* * *

“You and Shoyou broke up and you didn’t tell me!” Kuro’s voice rang out over the phone.

Kenma held the phone away from his ear and waited for his best friend to stop yelling, “How’d you even find out about that?” he grumbled. Even though it was just about noon it was still early for Kenma who tended to go to bed in the wee hours of the morning.

“Kageyama told me,” Kuro said, stressing Kageyama’s name, “I was working with his team and apparently Shoyou told his friend that you two broke up before he went to Brazil but you didn’t bother to tell me.”

“Are you done being dramatic yet?” Kenma asked after Kuro paused to take a breath, “I didn’t tell you but we’re still close friends even if we’re not dating. Now goodbye, Tetsu.”

Kei chuckled next to him after he hung up the phone, “I can’t believe you picked up the phone.”

Kenma groaned and flopped back down on the bed, “He has his own ringtone. If I don’t answer he’s going to show up here to make sure I’m alive, he’s done it before.”

“Hmm,” Kei reached over him to grab his phone that was on the nightstand, “And here I thought it was annoying that if I didn’t answer my brother he asked Tadashi or Shoyou how I was doing. At least he stayed away.”

He let out a small laugh, “Your brother calls Shoyou?”

Kei mindlessly scrolled through social media, “You don’t know annoying until your brother calls your boyfriend while you’re going down on him because he’s worried about if you’ve eaten dinner.” Kenma couldn’t contain his laugh and Kei lightly smacked his chest with the back of his hand, “He’s texted Shoyou since he’s been in Brazil, Sho keeps reminding him that he hasn’t seen me.”

“Not really a lie,” Kenma mused, “But he probably knows how you’re doing better than anyone.”

“Same goes for you,” Kei tossed his phone to the foot of the bed, “So now that you and Sho have broken up--”

Kenma shoved him, “You know that’s a lie.”

Kei lightly took Kenma’s chin and brought him closer for a slow kiss, “I was going to say do you want to make him jealous, but if you don’t…” he trailed off.

Kenma leaned up for another kiss, it was unfair how good a kisser he was and he finally understood why Shoyou kept going back to him, “This is only because Shoyou isn’t here,” he said against Kei’s lips.

“Of course,” he laughed, “It’s not like we’re dating.”

He rolled his eyes, for some reason Kei liked to draw that boundary between them. The two of them were dating the same person and had started hooking up after he left out of convenience (they didn’t want to cheat on him and two years was a long time and explaining to someone else their arrangement would be a hassle and against their rules), so they weren’t exactly not dating. Or they were only a step away from dating. Shoyou would be ecstatic.

“Shut up,” Kei said even though Kenma hadn’t said anything, “I already know.”

Kenma rolled his eyes again at his dramatic not-boyfriend and pulled him down for another kiss.


End file.
